SLLBTT Chapter 18
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 18⊱⊷⋇
It was well-known that "removing the signboard" was a severe punishment for palace consorts.
Liu Jiao's signboard had been removed for a week. This matter was posted on the government affairs forum, with one netizen commenting, "This actually signifies the Snow Wolf King's punishment for the disastrous beauty."
However, another netizen argued, "If the Snow Wolf King decided to punish the snow leopard beauty, then why did he assert dominance in the court against Censor Xu?"
The first netizen replied, "Exactly, you've hit the key point. The new ruler, just ascending the throne, faced criticism from the Censor. Naturally, he needed to uphold his authority, so he showed dominance to Censor Xu. It has nothing to do with the snow leopard beauty. In fact, the Great King is aware of his misconduct, but he can't admit it. Hence, he outwardly protects him while secretly removing his signboard."
"Ah, I see now! The Great King is truly wise and farsighted!"
While the forum was heated with discussions, the palace remained relatively calm. No one paid much attention to the matter of the signboard. They were all busy reviewing their lessons.
The monthly exams approached.
"Please treat each exam as if it were the final exam! The final exam results will directly impact the positions of all the masters present," the official from Internal Affairs stated in a dispassionate tone.
This remark heightened Liu Jiao's nervousness. The hand holding the pen trembled. It continued to tremble throughout the completion of the first exam.
After finishing the Chinese exam, Liu Jiao felt as if his soul had been drained.
But regardless of who it was, being questioned about something they did't understand for an hour would surely leave them feeling exhausted!
"Is my intelligence normal?" Liu Jiao even voiced such a question.
After finishing the exam, Liu Jiao walked along the roadside in a daze, resembling a salted fish that had suddenly lost its aspirations.
Da Huangya and Ah Ye followed behind, both hesitant to ask how the exam went.
"Isn't that Beautiful Lady Jiao?"
—A familiar voice echoed.
Liu Jiao, Da Huangya, and Ah Ye all turned around to see the gracefully approaching Queen Ming, with sixteen attendants trailing behind. It was much more grandiose than Liu Jiao's two companions.
Liu Jiao bowed down, "Greetings, Queen Dowager."
Queen Ming smiled and said, "Rise, little beauty. Come, accompany me for a stroll."
Liu Jiao walked by Queen Ming' side, wagging his large tail, which was promptly seized by Queen Ming. While holding the tail, Queen Ming said, "I've missed your tail. Didn't I tell you to come visit this old man more often? Why haven't you come?"
Despite Queen Ming having a head full of white hair, he possessed a youthful face. So, his self-proclaimed "old man" title sounded a bit absurd.
Liu Jiao, however, didn't ponder over such things and simply answered honestly, "I've been studying my lessons."
It wasn't that Liu Jiao was unwilling to show respect to the Queen Dowager. It was just that he didn't even have time for his nighttime duties, let alone the energy for such formalities.
Queen Ming chuckled, "Your studies must be excellent, then?"
"Not necessarily," Liu Jiao sighed when the topic arose, "Turns out, effort doesn't always guarantee rewards!"
"That's true," Queen Ming said, "Compared to effort, intelligence is the true weapon."
"Intelligence?" Liu Jiao mused, "I don't even know if I have that."
Queen Ming laughed, "Don't underestimate yourself. Don't be sad. As long as you promise to visit me often, I guarantee you won't have to worry about this exam."
Liu Jiao was greatly surprised and could only say, "Are we talking about the exams in the next few days? How can there be such quick-acting tutoring?"
"Of course, there is," Queen Ming paused and asked, "What are you being tested on tomorrow?"
Liu Jiao responded, "Math."
This particular exam was nothing short of torture for Liu Jiao.
Queen Ming said, "Tomorrow, I'll have Lily supervise the exam. When you encounter her, just give her this," and with that, Queen Ming produced a small jade pendant from his sleeve.
Liu Jiao, puzzled, asked, "Can this jade pendant boost my score? Is it that miraculous?"
Queen Ming smiled. "Try it, and you'll find out." He added in a low voice, "But don't tell anyone."
Liu Jiao was filled with doubts but followed Queen Ming's instructions, choosing not to share the secret.
The next day during the exam, the original proctor was indeed absent, replaced by Lily. Liu Jiao was particularly surprised and could only inquire, "What happened to the Little Cat Proctor?"
"Seems someone took away his litter box last night, so he had to run to the big cat's restroom. Unfortunately, he fell into the pit and couldn't climb out," Lily explained.
"Ah?" Liu Jiao exclaimed.
At that moment, Lily spoke up, "No whispering during the exam!"
Everyone quickly fell silent.
Lily handed out the exam papers one by one, walking over to Liu Jiao. Liu Jiao hesitated for a moment, recalling the Queen Dowager's instructions. He then took out a jade pendant and handed it to Lily.
Lily didn't expect Liu Jiao to be so straightforward in giving her something and was momentarily stunned. Fortunately, Lily was a seasoned pro, so her expression remained unchanged. She took the jade pendant and said, "Oh, thank you. This is indeed mine. Where did you find it?"
"Ah?" Liu Jiao was dumbfounded.
Lily thought, "Oh my, this one's a bit clueless."
Lily handed Liu Jiao the exam paper and walked away without further ado.
Nobody paid much attention to this small incident. After all, it was a math exam!
Leng Jiao opened the exam paper and saw the first fill-in-the-blank question: "Above the river, there is a parabolic arch bridge. When the distance from the water surface to the arch top is 5 meters, the water surface width is 8 meters. A small boat, 4 meters wide and 2 meters high, with a cargo, exposes a portion 0.75 meters high above the water surface. When the water surface rises to ( ) meters from the parabolic arch, the small boat can no longer pass."
Leng Jiao thought, "This is too easy," and wrote down (2) on the answer sheet.
Liu Jiao flipped to the first page of the exam paper and saw the first fill-in-the-blank question: "1 + 1 = ( )"
Liu Jiao thought, "This is too easy," and wrote down (2) on the answer sheet.
After completing the math exam, Liu Jiao found a renewed confidence in his intelligence. As soon as the test was over, he hurried to Qingque Terrace to pay respects to Queen Ming.
Seeing him, Queen Ming ruffled his tail again and laughed. "How was it? I told you, didn't I? Intelligence is more important than hard work."
Liu Jiao replied, "But I don't feel particularly intelligent."
Queen Ming asked, "Could you solve today's questions?"
"Mostly," Liu Jiao said, finding it somewhat unbelievable himself.
Queen Ming concluded, "Then you have intelligence."
Liu Jiao pondered for a moment and said, "But if the questions are so simple, won't everyone be able to solve them? How will my ranking improve?"
"What you find simple, others may not," Queen Ming said, wrapping Liu Jiao's tail around his arm and smiling. "You need to believe in yourself."
Watching his soft tail being playfully handled by Queen Ming, Liu Jiao hesitated, "But... usually, what others find simple, I find difficult. How can it be that I find something simple, and others find it challenging?"
Queen Ming said, "Let me tell you something. The most important thing is not effort or intelligence. It's power."
Liu Jiao was stunned, even more puzzled.
Queen Ming gave Liu Jiao's tail a tug, causing him to fall back onto the couch. Queen Ming casually said, "After spending half the day on exams, you must be tired. Shall we go to sleep?"